Tough As Nails
by Lostinfantasies38
Summary: Tabris struggles with ingrained defense mechanisms from growing up in Denerim's alienage. She takes out her aggression mostly on her Warden comrade - for reasons that are hidden even from her. ONESHOT


Kya Tabris was exactly the type of city elf from the alienage slums that humans went out of their way to avoid. A chip on her shoulder the size of her hometown, she was feisty and fierce with a protective streak a mile wide for the disenfranchised. The dual wield training she received from her mother as a girl had served her well, on many occasions, and she had zero qualms about killing every shem in the Arl's palace when she and the other girls were kidnapped. At her fucking wedding, no less!

Granted, Kya might not have initially been keen on the idea of an arranged marriage, but she understood why her father chose someone outside of their alienage. She had a…reputation for being difficult and stirring up trouble with her cousins, Shianni and Soris. None of the elves in Denerim were clamoring for her hand and it __was__ time for her to settle down. Kya was already nineteen and most of the elven girls were married by sixteen.

She'd had such hopes for Nelaros, too, after their first meeting. He was handsome and kind, shy and gentle – the complete opposite of her and she was drawn to his tenderness. She wondered as they stood side by side and waited for Valendrian to finish his speech, what it would be like to come home to a husband who would hug her, maybe run his hands through her dark hair and murmur that she mattered to him. That she wasn't complete trash, like the shems said. Like the other elves said. Someone who would see __her__ and that she might even be able to be vulnerable with. She wanted to be gentler, but she couldn't do it alone.

And then it had all gone to shit. Vaughn and his cronies sauntered in like they owned the damned place – well, __fuck__, he kind of did. The priest tried to put a stop to it, but none of the elves said a word. Kya understood why they didn't, but shit! Just once it would have been nice to see someone besides Shianni and herself take a stand – surely, they weren't the only two elves in the entire city with backbone, right? As it turned out, they weren't. Soris and Nelaros came to their rescue, but her betrothed was cut down before her eyes.

In that moment, as his life blood sprayed the wall behind him and pooled in his golden hair, her vision turned the same crimson that decorated the stone and she had no recollection of the next few minutes. Kya's vision cleared when the final guard's head flew across the room and she yanked the sword she had skewered him on from his gut with a snarl. She fell on her knees next to her almost-husband's body and closed his eyelids, covering the once bright blue eyes that sparkled in excitement when they were introduced only hours ago. His left hand was clenched in a tight fist and Kya curiously unfurled his fingers to find a delicate gold band – her wedding ring. Didn't Shianni tell her that Nelaros was a blacksmith? Andraste's flaming pyre! He'd probably made it himself for __her.__ An act of devotion before they even met. Now, he was dead and it was all her fault.

Kya hadn't even realized she was crying until Soris gently patted her shoulder. She carefully took the band and slid it onto her hand. In remembrance of what they should have had, if only she had been different – less angry, less violent, less mouthy. But she steeled herself and folded his hands across his chest, then rose in her blood-stained wedding dress to continue the search for Shianni and the others.

Vaughn tried to make a deal, but Kya took one look at Shianni cowering in the corner while running her thumb across the unfamiliar band on her hand and ran him through. His eyes bulged in shock, his clammy noble hands that had never seen a day's work in their life, frantically raked along the blade, but she laughed heartlessly and twisted the sword in his gut. As the life drained out of his eyes, Kya leaned over him and spat.

"Fucking shem. Go to hell and tell everyone that an elf bitch sent you."

Soris scrambled to the back room, too stunned by her actions to even speak, and see who else was still alive. Kya ran to Shianni and her cousin sobbed into her gory gown, gasping, choking, eyes frantically searching for more abusers and Kya wished she could kill Vaughn all over again – slower this time. Soris returned with his intended, Valora, who informed them that all the other girls were dead. Kya pulled Shianni to her feet and supported her through the servants entrance out of the palace and then through the sewer system that spit them out in the alienage.

The city guard were hot on their heels, but they were able to get everyone hidden away by the time the Captain arrived and Kya took sole responsibility. Duncan of the Grey Wardens quirked an eyebrow at her and the Captain had been tempted to scoff until he actually looked at her – the wild look in her eye dared him to challenge her in her once white dress, now scarlet and dotted with bits of flesh and Maker-only-knew what. She imagined her face and hair were no better. When Duncan offered to conscript her to keep her out of prison, Kya couldn't turn down an opportunity to start over, and the city guard couldn't argue.

Now, Duncan was dead (fucking Ostagar, don't even get started on that shit!) and Kya and the weird shem, Alistair, were the only Wardens left. She'd come to know Alistair better in the weeks following the battle and it irritated her that she felt guilty for her initial treatment of him. When she first met him, he'd been antagonizing a mage, which was funny as hell, however, when he turned to her and she saw his gorgeous face…Kya couldn't explain it. In that moment, she deliberately chose to hate him.

To say Alistair had been surprised by her acidic tongue lashings would be an understatement. Kya knew good and well she had deeply wounded the poor man. He couldn't be much older than her and he'd never been anything but kind to her. Maker's fucking breath! What __was__ her damned problem? Why was it so hard for her to be nice to people? She could be nice to her dog and to orphaned children all day, but it was impossible for her to extend the same courtesy to her fellow Grey Warden.

She recalled the chantry board mission to locate a missing caravan, but all they found were bodies and destroyed wagons. There was one wagon that was mostly intact, but one of the spokes on the wheel was damaged and all the oxen had been slaughtered. However, they decided to check the interior for loot and found something altogether different – an entire wagon of orphans bound for Denerim.

Spinning to Alistair and Zevran, Kya demanded they hide the bodies from the little ones, and she'd clambered into the wagon sharing her food rations and telling funny stories to keep them distracted until the coast was clear. A few hours later, Alistair poked his head nervously around the wagon and peeked through the canvas flaps to find Kya rocking a young girl about three to sleep and humming a lullaby into her strawberry hair. Some of the older children were still awake and were crowded close to the softly smiling elven woman.

Her green eyes met his brown and something shifted in Kya towards her companion as he watched her revel in a tender moment. Alistair smiled sheepishly at being caught and gave her a thumbs up indicating that the meadow was clear before disappearing and Leliana's head replaced his. The rogue cocked her head as she catalogued the scene and joined the Warden in the wagon softly singing the lyrics to the lullaby Kya was humming.

They stayed like that all night. The men kept guard outside while the women watched over the children and the next day Alistair and Leliana went to the village up the road to inform the local Chantry sisters about the orphans. The priests came for the children, bringing a new wagon with fresh oxen, to take them to the village. They promised the Wardens they would care for the children until they could arrange safe and secure passage for them to the city.

Kya slipped a very full coin purse to one of the priests. "Make sure this is used solely for their care, so no one can claim that they are a burden. If they are run out of town, Sister, they will be lost to the darkspawn." The Sister smiled and blessed her as she pocketed the pouch and carted the children to safety. Kya was sure no one noticed the exchange, but when she turned around her eyes landed on Alistair leaning against a tree wearing a slight smile, staring at her as though he was trying to figure out a particularly hard puzzle.

That was the start of her guilt for her unjust treatment of him. Yes, Alistair was a human. He was equally infuriating and hilarious (usually unintentionally so, which made it even better) and…kind. Even though she had treated him like scum and brushed off his attempts to be friendly, he was still nice to her and he never berated her. Kya could honestly say that for the first time she could look at a human and not see a __shem__. Alistair was…Alistair. Her fellow Warden. Her comrade in arms. She could always count on him to have her back in every fight and when making the tough calls required to get the job done. He trusted her – an elf. A dirty knife-ear. He chose to put his life in her hands every day and how had she repaid him?

"You are such a bitch," Kya scolded herself. Zevran snorted beside her and she blushed, unaware that she'd spoken the words aloud.

"Was that directed at me, dear Warden? Or have you taken to talking to yourself?" Zev cocked an eyebrow and she punched him in the arm. The Crow laughed, completely unperturbed by her lack of social graces, and Kya picked up her pace so she could get away from the other elf.

Of course, that brought her right to the front of the marching line where Alistair was scanning the terrain for trouble. She sighed and forced herself to keep on course; turning tail and running at this point would be obvious cowardice – the very idea galled her.

"Alistair." The man flinched at the sound of her voice and Kya mentally berated herself for causing him to fear her. She was half his size for Andraste's sake! He was the size of a tree and could break her with his thumbs, she was pretty sure, not that she was going to test this theory or anything.

"Fuck, I don't know how to say this," Kya huffed in annoyance.

He unconsciously slowed his pace so that her shorter legs were better able to keep up. "Say what? What did I screw up this time?" Alistair sighed and kicked a rock down the road in resignation.

Kya jerked her head to stare up at him. He hung his head and wore a browbeaten expression, much like Rapier did when she scolded him for digging up the camp site, and a dagger twisted in her gut at the sight. She snatched his forearm and forced him to make eye contact. Alistair stared at her with wide eyes and mouth agape, looking decidedly uncertain if she was going to eviscerate him or break his arm.

She blew out an impatient breath. "I don't know how to say…I-I'm sorry." The last two words were whispered so quietly that he almost missed them among the wind rustling the leaves along the path. Alistair narrowed his eyes and dragged her off the road up a small hill, so they could speak without being overheard.

"Sorry for what, exactly? Sorry for joining the Wardens? Sorry for being stuck with me in Ostagar? Sorry for treating me no better than Morrigan since we met? Is that what you're sorry for?"

Kya grimaced with each accusation because they were all true. Maker, she wished she could deny them, but she couldn't. She stared at the ground and swallowed hard as she tried to find someway to express how guilty she felt and how she wanted to start over. She'd treated him as scornfully as shems had treated her in the past. Kya was aware how abhorrent her behavior was, but she also knew that an apology at this stage was likely too little, too late.

His grip on her arm loosened and his voice softened. "Or are you sorry for taking care of those orphans? Giving the last of your rations to the beggar family outside the city gates? What about slipping the elven woman that cinnamon bun you begged to stop for because you said you never had the money to buy one?"

It was her turn to stare at him in surprise, noting the lazy smile on his face and the warmth in his eyes. She blushed to the tips of her ears and bit her lip nervously – she had no idea he had been paying that much attention to her. She was used to being invisible, but she could no longer claim such as long as Alistair's observant eyes were nearby.

Alistair chuckled to see her rendered speechless. "You may be a bitch, but you're not as tough as you like to pretend. Scary as hell – oh, yeah. Scrappy – check. Tough as nails – still up for debate."

Kya could feel her defenses automatically rising to challenge him and tell him in no uncertain terms to choke and die for presuming he knew her, but she caught herself in time and swallowed the words before they could fall out of her mouth. Alistair released her and stepped back in mild surprise by her ability to rein in her tongue.

"Apology accepted," he said without a trace of sarcasm and headed towards the group waiting for them on the road. Kya turned her back on her companion's curious expressions, instead snapping her dirk out of her boot and hurling into a nearby tree trunk with an angry scream. She could hear the snorts behind her at the display, but she did not turn around. She wasn't mad at anyone, except herself, and her inability to function like a normal person.

A weight rested lightly on her shoulder and she nearly jumped through the canopy of trees, rolling immediately away from danger and popping out of her roll with her swords flashing in the sunlight, lips curled in a feral snarl. Alistair stumbled back a couple of paces with his hands raised in surrender and a strange, nameless look on his face. Kya sighed heavily and returned her weapons to their sheathes with extremely shaky hands. She raised her hand in apology and managed to choke out a strangled, "I'm sorry."

He furrowed his brow and whispered so that his voice would not carry, "What happened to you? Who mistreated you so that you respond to kindness with violence?"

Kya barked a harsh laugh and shook her head. "You wouldn't understand. No human could ever understand the true despair of living in an alienage, at the constant mercy of humans and their cruelty." She walked to the tree with her blade and yanked it out, inspecting it for damage, before tucking it back in place.

"You once asked me if I was afraid of darkspawn and I told you no; would you like to know why?" The man nodded slowly. "Because I have seen the depravity that lies in men's hearts under the guise of compassion or a sick desire to hurt someone simply because they can. Darkspawn are honest – they do not shy from their evil, that is the only way they can be. But humans have a __choice__ and the majority of them, in my experience, have chosen to hate, slander, abuse, and degrade others for their pointy ears or their stout, stocky legs. Humans are barbarians."

Alistair's mouth was drawn into a severe line and she could see the wrath her words stirred inside him. She stopped him from railing against her for speaking ill of his people though, as she barreled on – the words she'd been searching for earlier rolling easily off her tongue now.

"At least, that was how I __used__ to feel about humans. Granted, I still think most of them are shits and I will probably still shank the next one who calls me a knife-ear, but…then I met you. You have shown me continued kindness when you didn't have to and you've never distrusted me simply because I'm an elf. I am sorry for how I have treated you. I have been a fucking bitch, you're right, and it was undeserving. I hope you can forgive me and we can start over."

"Of course," the man blurted without hesitation. Kya's street smarts were telling her to be careful, this nice veneer could be a trap, but she knew that Alistair was different. Training her flight or fight response to believe that, though, would be harder than telling her head, but she was willing to try.

"Good." Kya quirked the corners of her mouth in the barest hint of a smile. She jerked her head in the direction of their companions waiting by the road and Alistair nodded. They did not speak anymore about where they stood during their march to the Circle tower. They reached the Circle late that evening, but instead of rushing across the lake to meet with the mages, Kya splurged for rooms at the inn.

Zevran and Alistair bunked together, while Kya, Leliana, and Morrigan shared another. Kya gave the other women the bed and made a pallet on the floor for herself. Leliana tried to argue, but the elf only shook her head and blushed at the fuss the redhead made over her. Within minutes of curling onto the soft pallet, Kya was asleep.

She awoke in the morning feeling very refreshed and couldn't resist a final burrow under covers into the soft mattress. Her eyes shot open and Kya sat up with a gasp. She was in a bed, but it wasn't the room she purchased. She glanced down and noticed with relief that she was still in her under tunic and cotton breeches she wore under her leathers, but it didn't explain how the bed magically appeared.

Kya padded quietly out of the bed and cracked the door. The rooms she purchased the night before were across the hallway, which meant she wasn't in the men's room…so a third room? But who-

"Ah, good, you're awake." Alistair's smooth voice sounded on her right and she startled to see him climbing the last few stairs to the landing, carrying a small plate. "I grabbed you some toast and bacon before Zevran ate it all." He passed her the plate with a small smile and trepidation in his eyes.

"Thank you," the elven woman murmured as she took the dish. She wished she could find the words to thank him for the room, as well, but she suddenly found her mouth drier than a desert and unable to articulate anymore. His smile widened a little while the uncertainty eased from his brown orbs. With a nod, he headed for his room and closed the door without a backwards glance.

Kya stared at the plate and blushed. Why, she could not say for certain, except that maybe his continued kindness shamed her a little. She slipped back into her room and softly closed the door so she could sit on her bed and eat in peace. Once her breakfast was gone, Kya began putting on her armor that she discovered sitting on the chair in a neat pile, and crossed the hall to the other women's room to grab her pack. It was already close to ten in the morning and they still had much to do. She met up with the rest of the companions downstairs and then chose who would cross the lake with Alistair and herself.

"Right, Morrigan, you stay here. You and Templars don't have a good history. I'll leave Rapier with you. So, Zevran and Leliana you're with us." Morrigan muttered under her breath, but shooed them all away from her and out the door.

They convinced the templar on the dock to take them across, but something about the situation was making Kya's hands twitchy. No sooner did they cross the threshold of the tower when she realized her instincts were correct – something was very wrong. Knight-Commander Greagoir explained that the Circle was overrun with abominations and Kya's blood turned to ice. She heard Alistair swear behind her. They had already fought a few abominations on their travels and she was not looking forward to clearing out an entire tower of them, but they needed the mages. It stood to reason that not all of them were dead; some of them had surely survived the assault and were using their magic to defend themselves. They would be useful allies and what's more, they would be indebted to her.

Greagoir grudgingly agreed to let them clear out the tower since they had not yet received word from Denerim on what they should do. Kya restocked their potion supply with the quartermaster before they ventured deeper into the tower. She tried not to flinch as the Templars slammed the metal door shut behind them and barred it against re-entry. Fucking hell, she hoped she hadn't made a huge mistake.

They made it through the first floor with relative ease and Kya began to feel more confident in their decision to help the Circle. The feeling was buoyed even more when they found Wynne protecting a small handful of mages and child apprentices with a barrier. They agreed to take her with them as they patrolled the tower and left Zev to help the mages guard the little ones. Kya was grateful the older woman was with them as it turned out she was a healer and her spells were able to keep them on their feet longer without sacrificing their precious potions.

The team continued their search and rescue mission of the tower, but found fewer and fewer mages that were not corrupted or charred like human kebabs as they went. They also discovered fleshy sacs growing from the stonework and strange viscous fluids flowing along the floors. Kya gripped her sword hilts tighter and tried not to throw up as her eyes drank in the carnage.

"Maker's breath," Alistair muttered beside her. "It gets worse as we go higher." She nodded absently, aware that the floor they were on was unnervingly quiet. The others had picked up on the eerie silence, as well and they moved as stealthily as they could down the vacant hall.

A door to one of the templar's rooms was open and Kya peeked quickly around to look inside. She jerked her head back to her team flush against the wall and whispered, "Desire demon." Wynne and Alistair scowled angrily and prepared themselves to fight. The four of them rushed the demon and the poor templar she had ensnared. Kya tried to ignore the broken way he screamed at them to not murder his wife as they hacked the demon. It hit too close to home for her.

By the time the demon and the templar fell, Kya was a wreck. Dropping her swords with a clatter she dashed out of the room to expel her breakfast and sob simultaneously. No one disturbed her during her moment of weakness and she was grateful. When she felt like the nausea had passed, she slunk wordlessly into the room and picked up her swords, wiping the gore along the templar's fabric skirt, and continuing into the hallway once more to check the other room.

They cut down the mob of possessed templars and the blood mage that controlled them before scurrying to the room across the hall – and directly into the face of an abomination. A mage lay crumpled on the blood slicked floor at the creature's feet. Rage exploded within her, but when she tried to lift her sword, Kya realized her arm was too tired to hold the weapon. In fact, her entire body was exhausted, especially after her vomiting episode. She really wanted a nap. Wynne was pleading with her to resist the temptation to sleep, but she didn't want to. Andraste's tits, she was so tired.

"Kya! I'm home. Master Tilsen decided to close the smithy early today." Nelaros entered the house and snagged her gently around the waist. Kya pretended to be busy at the stove, but he knew this game and he smirked slightly before dipping his lips to her neck – kissing a line up her throat along her jaw to her mouth. Kya melted into his tender kiss, turning around in his arms to face him, and snaking her arms around his neck to hold him in place against her lips. They separated breathlessly and Nelaros placed another kiss to her forehead in wordless gratitude for what they had together. He was a skilled blacksmith and while he would never make as much money as a human or a dwarf at the trade, he was paid well, for an elf, and managed to provide for both his wife and his father-in-law.

Cyrion popped around the corner. "I hope I am not interrupting," he said with a teasing smile. Kya blushed a little, but shook her head at her father and Nelaros released her with a grin.

"Not at all, Father. We wouldn't have asked you to move in with us, otherwise. Come, sit at the table. I will wash the smell of the forge off me and I'll join you for dinner." He ducked into their room and Kya could hear him pour water from the pitcher into the basin so he could clean up.

Her father chuckled. "Tell me, daughter, are you happy with the match I made for you?"

She blushed deeper as she ladled the stew into bowls and placed them on the table. "You know that I am, Father. Nelaros is a wonderful man and he has always provided for us both."

As she passed her father, he gently grabbed her hand and smiled at her with tears in his eyes. "I am glad that things have worked out for you, my child." Cyrion tenderly patted her swollen belly. "And for this little blessing. I am happier than I could have ever dreamed."

Nelaros reappeared and laid his hand possessively across her stomach. Kya smiled warmly and gazed into her husband's brown…wait, blue eyes…the sudden shift in color triggered her fight response and she shoved her husband (he's dead) away from her. She stared at her father and noticed that his smile now seemed forced – plastered on like a doll's and his eyes turned stony in the wake of her fear.

"Kya, sweetheart, what's wrong? Is it the baby? Do you need to lie down?"

Nelaros walked…no stalked…towards her like prey (come back, my pretty), reaching for her with his claws…hands…and she ran around the table to get away. She cupped her hand protectively against her belly and found that it was flat, toned muscle – no babe grew in her womb or ever would. The darkspawn taint had stolen that deeply buried dream from her.

Darkspawn. Wardens. Alistair.

"Where the fuck is he, you lying sack of shit?!" The illusion came crashing down and she found herself in a wasteland holding her swords aloft as somewhere in the distance a demon shrieked in anger. "Teach you to play with my mind, you bastard!" The two demons who had taken her fiancé and her father's forms, respectively, leapt from the shadows. They raked the air and hissed angrily at her for destroying their plans, but she twirled her blades the way her mother taught her so she could hit two enemies at once or decapitate one with a single move. It slowed them down enough that she was able to then slice the blades back down and through their ashy forms at an angle and they disintegrated.

An altar appeared in the middle of the room, covered in runestones, and she reached out to touch the pedestal with a shaky hand. Kya knew that her companions were trapped, too, and if their own desires were as strong as hers, they would not be able to leave without help. She would have still been trapped if the demon had not confused Alistair's warm brown eyes with Nelaros's blue. As for why she had been thinking of Alistair's eyes, Kya did not want to examine that right now.

"Hang on guys, I'm coming for you."

She finally found them, after fighting for what seemed like forever, through the Fade and all the demons that kept them bound to Sloth. Kya had followed Niall's advice and learned various forms to get through the all the wards and free her friends. Wynne was first and her nightmare was incredibly morbid, but they finally killed the demons and then the mage disappeared. Kya experienced a minor panic attack initially at her sudden vanishing act, yet she prayed that they would be reunited when they woke up. Leliana was next, but nothing she said could sway the woman into believing they knew each other and she was forced to kill the "Revered Mother" in order to prove to her friend that it was a trap. When Leliana also disappeared, Kya swallowed her rising anxiety and rushed to the altar to unlock the final ward.

Kya walked into a scene much like hers. Her heart lurched painfully in her chest at the idea that he, too, was desperately seeking acceptance and a family. She never imagined that such a handsome man could be lonely. He deflected most of his pain with humor, she realized suddenly and that burst of clarity made her want to fall on her sword. Maker, how deeply had she wounded him when she had treated him with such disdain? She was literally all that he had left. The Wardens were a family of sorts, and now that all of them were gone, most especially Duncan, the only person he had left in all of Thedas was __her__. It may not have been the way she'd always dreamed of someone wanting her in their life, but she would take what she could get at this point and she had much to make up for with Alistair.

He saw her and his entire face lit up, sending warmth radiating through her body, and she couldn't hold back the first real smile she gave him. "There you are! I was just thinking about you – what a coincidence." Kya shivered a little at his words, but she didn't dig too deeply for meaning, because the demon masquerading as his sister was eyeing her warily.

She was finally able to convince Alistair to think about how they got to his sister's and his templar training helped him regain control of his mind. The spell broken they fought off the demons together – his shield always coming between her and a fatal blow, her blades protecting his exposed flank – until all of the creatures were dead. He winked out of existence and she choked down the rush of panic that washed over her anew. Kya was connecting dots in her head, finally, and there were so many things she wanted to say, but trapped in the Fade she wasn't sure she would have time now.

The middle rune was all that was left. It was time to deal with Sloth.

Kya stepped into Sloth's domain and nearly cried when her friends followed on her heels. She walked to the demon gloating in his principality – his mocking laugher echoing around her as she approached.

"I gave you the wrong dream the first time. Go back to your island and I'll give you everything you want. I know what you hide from yourself, elf," he sneered as he flicked his red eyes to the one behind her.

She snatched her swords faster than he could blink and snarled between gritted teeth. "Never. You will never have either of us, but especially not HIM!" Kya shoved her swords through his chest with such force that they both flew back a few paces. Sloth screamed in rage, yanking her blades from his body and tossing her aside.

"Oh no, you don't!" Alistair yelled, charging the demon as it morphed into an ogre and the fight for their lives was on.

Sloth shapeshifted through much of the fight, switching fighting styles and enemy types so they could never figure out any one weakness, but through sheer determination and force of will they finally killed the bastard. Niall appeared and reminded her to take the Litany from his body to protect them from blood magic and then they…

"Ugh, I'm covered in Maker's knows what."

Kya slowly got to her feet and turned at the dulcet sound of his voice. Andraste, she had been a Maker-damned fool! That was why she had shut him down so hard when they first met – all this time she was afraid of getting close to someone, in case they risked their life for her and ended up dead, like Nelaros. She watched him take a clean cloth from his pack and wipe his face, completely oblivious to her staring at him, as the gears in her head finally clicked into place. Running a hand over her face and finding she had been lucky to not fall face first into whatever was on the floor, she reached out and snagged his undertunic that was peeking over the top of his cuirass and yanked him down to kiss him square on the lips.

Alistair froze in shock – his entire body completely rigid and his eyes wide open in surprise. Kya released him just as suddenly and stepped back with a faint smile. Leliana and Wynne were both trying to suppress their giggles at their awkwardness.

Alistair sputtered. "Uhh...you sure you're…you and not some…"

"Demon?" Kya supplied and Alistair nodded feebly. "Nope, its me. I've been wanting to do that for a while, actually. I figured after a near death experience in the Fade, it seemed like a good time."

He ran a hand through his hair shakily and muttered, "Maker, I do not understand women. Not in the slightest…not even a little bit…"

Leliana was unable to contain herself any longer and burst into a fit of laughter. "Don't worry, dear Alistair, I will explain it all to you later."

"Wait?! You knew!" He stared at the bard affronted.

Leliana rolled her eyes. "The only ones who __didn't__ know, were you two." With that embarrassing pronouncement, she flounced off intent on completing their mission with Wynne. Kya flushed slightly when his gaze fell on her again, but she simply jerked her head toward the door and followed the other women through the last of the tower.

Now that he was alone, Alistair allowed himself to smile softly and touch his tingling lips. He remembered the rose from Lothering that was in his pack and he decided to have Wynne preserve it. If things continued in this vein, he might just gift it to someone. "I knew you weren't a total hard ass, Kya," he chuckled as he trailed behind their fearless leader.


End file.
